It’s the root of all evil.  It can’t buy happiness. It sometimes burns a hole in your pocket. And we all wish it grew on trees. What exactly am I referring to? Money, that’s what. Since money influences many of my decisions on a daily basis, I was surprised to learn that money really isn’t something you should worry about when considering a home treatment for kidney disease.

If you go on home dialysis, you will typically be provided with all the necessary equipment, and most, if not all, training and supply costs are covered by Medicare and most private insurance plans for qualified patients. This leaves little to no out-of-pocket costs.

If you’re afraid that home dialysis would cost too much, talk with your social worker today about benefits offered by Medicare and other insurance providers. If you are currently employed, talk with your human resources department about the benefits offered by your company’s health plan. Chances are you will be surprised to learn how inexpensive home dialysis actually is.

Cost shouldn’t keep you from choosing the dialysis option that is best for your health and lifestyle. Visit www.davita.com/home for more info about home dialysis.

Related blog
Home dialysis: You can afford it.

George Hartman is a father of 5, a grandfather of 19 and a great grandfather of 2. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) gives him the energy to spend time with his family and do the things he loves. This is his story:

Before I got sick, I was very active. My wife and I had a house up in the mountains…We went hunting. We had a lake I kept for swimming. It was great. Then, it got to be too much for me to keep up so we sold it. I still did the landscaping and gardening at our home. I love working outdoors. I even built my own birdhouses.

As I got sicker, I was tired all of the time. I was always taking naps. It was getting close to Thanksgiving. My family loves this holiday. We all get together and just really enjoy each other. I was feeling so bad I didn’t even want to go to dinner. My granddaughter was getting married on New Year’s Eve. The whole family was looking forward to it. My granddaughter was upset, thinking I wouldn’t be able to attend.

On November 15, I started my PD training. I could not believe that after just one week I could feel so much better. I started raking my lawn. It felt good to be back out working in my yard. I went to Thanksgiving, and everyone kept saying how healthy I looked. The best part was I felt good. My wife and I enjoyed getting ready for the holidays.

The next best thing that happened was I was able to attend my granddaughter’s wedding, and I even danced with the bride.

For more information about peritoneal dialysis, visit www.davita.com/home.

New technological advances have made more reliable and user-friendly home dialysis machines and water treatment equipment available for home dialysis patients. This new generation of machines is easier to set up, clean and disinfect while offering increased flexibility and a much more comfortable experience for patients. The newest home dialysis machines are designed to take up less space and require fewer supplies, which mean less required storage space.

The NxStage System One machine for home hemodialysis weighs 75 pounds and is 15 x 15 x 18 inches. The water purification system used with the NxStage machine is the PureFlow system. The PureFlow system is approximately the size of a small refrigerator. The NxStage machine sits on top of the PureFlow system. If you need to take your NxStage machine on a trip, you can simply lift it off of the PureFlow system and take it with you. The PureFlow system is not built to travel so you will simply need to bring bags of solution with you on your trips to use with the NxStage machine.

View an animated presentation of how the NxStage System One and PureFlow system work on the NxStage website.

Peritoneal dialysis cyclers for automated peritoneal dialysis have also been designed to take up less space. In fact, Baxter’s HOMECHOICE and HOMECHOICE PRO system is approximately the size of a VCR and easily fits on a nightstand. View a photo of the system on Baxter’s website.

These new, smaller home dialysis machines make it easy for people who live in small homes or apartments to do home dialysis.

Learn more about home dialysis at www.davita.com/home.

Many people considering home dialysis think they’re not smart enough to learn how to do it and that they won’t know what to do once they’re trained.  This thinking is wrong for two reasons. Number one, it gives you no credit. You’re smarter than you think you are. And number two, it gives training nurses no credit. Surely, they wouldn’t send you home without teaching you the skills you need to be successful.

If you and your doctor decide that home dialysis is right for you, you’ll enroll in a training program that is tailored to your specific needs. Each patient and treatment regimen is unique, so DaVita personalizes training programs to help you learn how to perform treatments at home with complete confidence.

During your training, you’ll learn all the skills and procedures needed to regularly perform your treatments independently. You’ll learn how to use your equipment, manage supplies, handle needles, create a hygienic environment and keep an organized log of your treatments. The length of training programs varies, but most people can usually learn how to safely perform their own peritoneal dialysis within a couple of weeks and home hemodialysis treatments within three to five weeks.

Home hemodialysis patients are encouraged to have a care partner assist them with their at-home treatments. This can be a spouse, parent, child, professional caregiver or other responsible person who can be relied upon to provide support. If you have a dialysis partner, he or she will be trained with you.

So, give yourself and your brain power some credit and give home dialysis a try if you think it’s right for you. Check out www.davita.com/home for more info on home dialysis treatments.

Related blog
Home dialysis: You will know what to do.